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James Levine Says He’s Ready to Work Again

In his first detailed comments about his latest health problem, James Levine said he underwent a 10-hour “monster operation” in April to correct curvature of the spine and spinal stenosis, an exceedingly painful condition that compresses the spinal cord.

“I couldn’t really work with all the pain that I had,” he said in a telephone interview on Friday. “I had a huge operation. And now I’m virtually recovered from it.”

The state of Mr. Levine’s health in recent years has become a burning issue for two major musical institutions: the Metropolitan Opera and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He is music director of both. He is scheduled to open the Met season on Sept. 27, leading the first performance of “Das Rheingold” in a new production of Wagner’s “Ring” cycle. He opens the season in Boston on Oct. 2.

A recent history of missing performances for medical problems, after a career noted for dependability, has caused uncertainty and frustration within both institutions and among their audiences. The frustration has grown acute in Boston, where Mr. Levine is at times seen as favoring the Met, his longstanding home.

Despite evidence that working too hard in the past has contributed to his health problems, Mr. Levine, 67, is scheduled for a nightmarish week in October. He will lead the Boston orchestra in Mahler’s huge Symphony No. 2 (“Resurrection”) at 8 p.m. on Oct. 7. On Oct. 8, he conducts a 1:30 p.m. repeat concert. Mr. Levine must then be in New York the next day for a 1 p.m. “Rheingold” and back in Boston that evening for another “Resurrection.”

The situation drew a rebuke from Mark Volpe, the Boston managing director, who expressed what he called “serious concern” about the double-performance day in a letter to Mr. Levine.

Mr. Levine said he had sought a solution, without success. “I made suggestions, none of which were comfortable for him,” Mr. Levine said of Mr. Volpe. “I’m feeling very good. If we approach the day, and if I feel as good as I do now, it won’t be any problem.” He said he had often conducted two performances in a day.

Complicating matters, the “Rheingold” performance will be transmitted live to theaters worldwide as part of the Met’s high-definition broadcast program. “It’s the first live international broadcast of a brand-new ‘Ring,’ ” Mr. Levine said. “It’s my first project in my 40th year at the Met. On what basis can I not do it?”

Mr. Volpe said he had declined to change the date of the Boston concert. “We had 2,000 people already with tickets for that concert,” he said. “We looked at options but had no options. It was Saturday night for us.”

On the health front, Mr. Levine said he was virtually pain-free and had had no problems conducting rehearsals this week at the Met.

Photo

James Levine will be busy at the Met and in Boston.Credit
Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times

The true test will be whether he can mount the podium day after day during the grinding months of February, say, when he has 3 engagements in Boston and 7 at the Met, or in April, when he conducts 12 performances of 4 different operas, including 7 in 11 days.

“He doesn’t want to concede anything,” Mr. Volpe said. “I’m not worried about the beginning of the season. It’s clear he’s back and able to function. The greater concern is going forward.”

Mr. Volpe made a special trip this week to observe Mr. Levine in rehearsal and discuss planning for next season. “He looked O.K.,” Mr. Volpe said. “He lost a little weight. The acuity is sharp. That’s for sure.”

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Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, said he too hoped that Mr. Levine would have the stamina to keep going. “So far in rehearsals he has been energized, and his excitement has been infectious, as far as the orchestra and cast are concerned,” Mr. Gelb said, adding that at the “Rheingold” rehearsals, “we’ve seen Jimmy at his very best.”

“He’s doing extraordinary work,” Mr. Gelb said. “Certainly it’s our hope that the efforts and success he’s had so far will extend the whole season and many seasons beyond.”

Mr. Levine has been beset by a series of health problems in recent years, which have caused him to cancel dozens of performances, including the entire season at the Boston Symphony’s Tanglewood Festival this summer. He has not conducted a performance since February.

Mr. Levine’s health problems became acute in 2006, when he had rotator-cuff surgery to repair damage caused by a fall onstage. Two years later surgeons removed a cancerous cyst from his kidney. Last fall he underwent an operation to repair a herniated disk near his neck. In April came the lower-back surgery.

Since Mr. Levine is a beloved conductor to many concertgoers and a vital figure in the musical life of two cities, discussions about his health have always been delicate. He benefits from a large pool of good will, but also has a difficult time with confrontation and saying no.

Mr. Levine has not ducked discussing his health issues over the years and has remained relentlessly optimistic about coming back. But several times he has forced the orchestra and the opera to scramble for substitutes.

The Boston Symphony, preparing for the worst possibility, has begun planning for another Levine absence. “We’ve already surveyed managements to see who’s available, specifically looking to cover Jimmy’s weeks, in the event there’s a situation,” Mr. Volpe said. Mr. Gelb said the Met’s principal guest conductor, Fabio Luisi, had been on call for the fall “Rheingold” performances.

“No one can have been more frustrated at not being able to do this work than I,” said Mr. Levine, who stressed that he was basically in excellent health. “I don’t pretend for a minute that it was easy on them — the orchestras and the audiences. Of course it wasn’t easy on me either.”

A version of this article appears in print on September 18, 2010, on Page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: ‘Monster’ Behind Him, Levine Says He’s Ready to Work. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe